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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 4 · The Creation of the Fourth Order · 31 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›
Canto 4 · Chapter 9: Dhruva Mahārāja Returns Home
4.9.154.9.17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.9.16

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Dhruva Mahārājasince 4.9.11inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

यस्मिन्विरुद्धगतयो ह्यनिशं पतन्ति

विद्यादयो विविधशक्तय आनुपूर्व्यात् ।

तद्ब्रह्म विश्वभवमेकमनन्तमाद्य-

मानन्दमात्रमविकारमहं प्रपद्ये ॥ १६ ॥

yasmin viruddha-gatayo hy aniśaṁ patanti

vidyādayo vividha-śaktaya ānupūrvyāt

tad brahma viśva-bhavam ekam anantam ādyam

ānanda-mātram avikāram ahaṁ prapadye

Translation

My dear Lord, in Your impersonal manifestation of Brahman there are always two opposing elements — knowledge and ignorance. Your multi-energies are continually manifest, but the impersonal Brahman, which is undivided, original, changeless, unlimited and blissful, is the cause of the material manifestation. Because You are the same impersonal Brahman, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotion Brings Us Closer to the Lord

  1. 1

    The unlimited impersonal Brahman is the effulgence of Govinda’s transcendental body. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original cause of all causes.

  2. 2

    Impersonal Brahman realization is a partial, distant understanding of the Absolute Truth. Although Brahman appears devoid of energy, different energies of knowledge and ignorance work within it.

  3. 3

    The more we develop devotional service, the more closely we approach the Absolute Truth. Advanced devotees understand the Lord’s personal features, energies and transcendental pastimes.

Key points from the purport
  • Although the Supreme Person is the original cause of all causes, His impersonal effulgence, known as Brahman, is the immediate cause of the material manifestation.
  • Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura describes that this impersonal feature, or Brahman manifestation, of the Supreme Lord is meant for persons who are essentially very advanced but still not able to understand the personal features or variegatedness of the spiritual world.
  • It is said that this impersonal Brahman is the distant realization of the Absolute Truth.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

Rejection → Transformed aspiration. A child's wounded pride is purified by divine encounter.

Chapters 8–12 of Canto 4: Dhruva seeks and encounters the Lord. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 9: Dhruva Mahārāja Returns Home

The Lord grants Dhruva’s desire; Dhruva regrets his former hostility and returns to his family.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.9
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yasminin whom
  2. viruddha-gatayaḥof opposite character
  3. hicertainly
  4. aniśamalways
  5. patantiare manifest
  6. vidyā-ādayaḥknowledge and ignorance, etc.
  7. vividhavarious
  8. śaktayaḥenergies
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Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “absolute truth”, “understanding”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotees”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “material”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I seeking only an abstract understanding of truth, or also a personal relationship of service to the Lord?

Practice

Offer respectful obeisances to the Lord, remembering that His impersonal effulgence comes from His transcendental person.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotion Brings Us Closer to the LordThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 4.9.16? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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